The Handmaid’s Tale: Joseph Fiennes Joins Hulu Series

by Cindy McLennan, August 23, 2016

Joseph Fiennes cast as male lead in The Handmaid’s Tale TV series on Hulu, season one.(Photo: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com.)

Deadline reports Joseph Fiennes has been cast as the male lead in The Handmaid’s Tale TV show for Hulu. The American Horror Story alum will play Commander Fred Waterford, “…founding father of Gilead and powerful, high-ranking official. Commander Waterford rules the household where Offred [Elizabeth Moss] is a handmaid.”

Based on the Margaret Atwell novel, the drama series is created, executive produced, and written by Bruce Miller. Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Warren Littlefield executive produce. Atwood is a consulting producer. The first season is slated for a 2017 premiere on Hulu. The cast also includes: Samira Wiley, Max Minghella, Ann Dowd, and Madeline Brewer.

When The Handmaid’s Tale was ordered to series, back in April, here’s how Hulu described it, in a press release:

Golden Globe® Winner Elisabeth Moss (TOP OF THE LAKE, TRUTH, MAD MEN) is Offred, a Handmaid trying to survive in the male-dominated totalitarian regime of Gilead. Enslaved by a society that values only her fertility, Offred must find a way to survive in this world of oppression and swift, cruel punishments.

Adapted from Margaret Atwood’s influential and acclaimed novel, THE HANDMAID’S TALE is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted religious fundamentalism that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred is a Handmaid in the Commander’s household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world. In this terrifying society where one wrong word could end her life, Offred navigates between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead — all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.

What do you think? How do you like the cast of The Handmaid’s Tale TV series, so far? Do you plan to watch, when it premieres on Hulu?